


The Age of Not Believing

by VanityFlair



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Kinda fluffy Kylo Ren, Nerdy Kylo Ren, Shameless Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-23 20:04:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8340982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanityFlair/pseuds/VanityFlair
Summary: Eloise just worked in a coffee shop and went to school. Did a little witchcraft on the side – just small stuff. And then Kylo Ren walked into her life and the big magic happened.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title based on the song of the same name from Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks
> 
> This is based on this post by Korpuskat: http://korpuskat.co.vu/post/149338800404/in-the-mean-time-i-thought-of-an-au-i-wouldnt

Eloise Price was a fresh-faced graduate student of plant pathology, a field of study that often garnered confused expressions until she explained. A plant doctor, that’s what she wanted to be. People sometimes asked if that was the same thing as a tree surgeon, and Eloise always just shook her head and explained that those were two completely different careers.

She’d been working part-time since she started her master’s degree to help mitigate her tuition. She’d been lucky enough to have her undergraduate tuition paid for by her parents, but per their agreement her master’s degree would be on her own dollar. After a brain numbing stint at a clothing store, a shoe store, and a body care store, Eloise was now trying her hand at being a barista. So far, she didn’t want to claw anyone’s eyes out. And Black Friday wasn’t really a thing for coffee shops, which was a plus.

But why plant pathology? Why choose that as a major in the first place and why go on to get her graduate degree in it as well?

Simple. She loved working with plants. Nature was where she drew her energy from – her power.

Eloise was a witch. Not in the ‘pact-with-the-devil, ride a broomstick’ kind of way. She used candles, crystals, herbs and sigils to enact her spells, and tended to stay on the small scale of magic. Big magic always came with a price.

She was at the café one day, filling in for one of her coworkers who had to study for a test, fiddling with her amethyst and rose quartz pendant during the lull in between customers.

Then, he walked in.

Kylo Solo-Organa – or, rather, Professor Ren as he preferred to be called in an effort to distance himself from his parents’ reputation.

Eloise recognized him immediately – he had just been hired as a professor for the quantum mechanics college at her university two years ago. He’d just graduated and immediately had a job; not many could boast the same.

Eloise had met him while he was doing his graduate studies; her boyfriend at the time, Toby, was also a graduate student of quantum mechanics. Toby and Kylo had shared a class their final year of their master’s program; Eloise had briefly met Kylo when she met up with her boyfriend after the tail end of a study session.

It only took a couple seconds for Kylo to walk from the door to the register, but to Eloise it felt like hours. Seeing him unwittingly brought back a rush of unpleasant memories about Toby.

They’d fought a lot towards the end of their relationship. He had made her feel inferior to him – for her looks, her decided major, her ‘silly candle obsession’, even the way she cleaned her apartment.

When things seemed to be at their worst, Eloise had drawn a sigil on a light blue candle, watching it burn for six hours until the flame snuffed itself out – hoping that it would help the issues in their relations ship resolve themselves, and they did.

They resolved by dissolving the relationship. Toby had come to her the next day declaring that he ‘deserved someone better’.

Sometimes magic doesn’t act the way one wants it to.

Shaking her head and gripping her pendant tighter to clear her thoughts away, Eloise smiled at Kylo. “Hi,” she greeted. “What can I get you?”

“Medium coffee with a shot of hazelnut, please,” he answered with a grim smile of his own, clearly unhappy.

Eloise nodded, punching the order into the register and processing his payment. As she began to prepare his order, her co-worker Jess sidled up to Eloise and stared at the man idling near the milk and sugar table.

“Such a shame,” Jess tutted with a small shake of her head. “He’s so hot but he always seems to be unhappy whenever he comes in here.”

That caught Eloise’s attention. “He comes in here often?”

“Yeah,” Jess nodded. “I guess you’ve never noticed cause you don’t normally work this shift.”

Eloise’s lips twitched – she didn’t know why she cared that Kylo was unhappy, but she was.

And so, on impulse, Eloise drew a sigil on his cup; just a simple ‘he will have a good day’ marking. She slid the protective cardboard sheath on the cup, effectively covering the mark, and handed it to him.

Maybe that would help, even if it was just a little.

|||

The next shift Eloise had during Kylo’s usual coffee run happened a few days later. Her coworker had called her frantically, convinced if they didn’t study more they would fail. Eloise agreed to cover their shift again – and lit a small green candle for them in a silent show of support.

When Eloise saw him this time, Kylo’s expression was the same – still unhappy, though it was slightly better than the last time she’d seen him.

He just looked so…alone.

Eloise remembered something that she’d once heard: alone was the most awful word in the English language. Murder doesn’t come close and hell is only a poor synonym. Alone was the worst.

Perhaps the good day had helped, it just wasn’t enough. This time, she drew a ‘he will find happiness’ sigil on his cup, yet again hiding it with the cardboard sheath.

|||

The next time Kylo came in to the coffee shop while Eloise was working, he actually spoke to her.

“You’re Toby’s girlfriend, right?” He asked after Eloise took his order. “I’m sorry; I don’t remember your name.”

“It’s Eloise,” she replied with a small smile, “and I’m his ex, actually. We broke up before you guys graduated from your master’s program.”

“Oh, wow. I feel like an asshole now.” He gave an uneasy chuckle.

“No, no. It’s alright.” She reassured him. “You didn’t know.”

There was silence as she processed his payment and handed his card back to him, moving back to the area where she’d prepare his order. It wasn’t until she picked up the marker to draw on his cup that he spoke again.

“Why do you draw on my cup every time I’m here?”

“Oh I – don’t really know.” She fumbled, lying through her teeth. “They’re just little doodles that I like to think are for good luck.”

He paused, staring at her pen hovering over the paper cup. “Do you draw them on everyone’s drinks?”

“No, you just always looked so sad. Is everything okay?”

Kylo sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I’m…this teaching job isn’t what I thought it would be. My students are great, don’t get me wrong, it’s just my boss. He’s…controlling. Manipulative. I don’t really know what to do.”

Eloise nodded, not knowing what to say in response and instead sketching a sigil, ‘he will find clarity’.

At home, she lit a double action votive candle – black on top to repel negative energy from others and white on bottom to bring peace. She anointed the black half with sage oil for purification, and the white half with gardenia oil for a double peace punch.

Maybe the combination of the candle and the sigil would help him.

She still wasn’t sure why she cared, though. He wasn’t anyone to her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little bit more set-up before....well...

* * *

 

It had been weeks since she had last seen Kylo. She hadn’t switched shifts with anyone and they’d never run into each other on campus – Kylo and his plight had all but disappeared from Eloise’s mind.

She was now focused on what was probably the best opportunity she’d been presented with since she started at the university. Her professor, Dr. Boxer, had selected Eloise to accompany her to the home of a local politician to diagnose and treat the problems they’d been having in their greenhouse.

Dr. Rosemary Boxer was Eloise’s favorite professor, and the fact that the woman had selected Eloise out of all her other students made Eloise giddy.

The politician – a senator of some kind – wasn’t home to meet them; instead they were shown the greenhouse by their assistant. It was a simple enough fix – just a fungus that could be taken care of by some antifungal spray.

As Eloise went back to Dr. Boxer’s car to grab some equipment the professor had forgotten, she gracefully tripped over her own feet when she came across Kylo wandering the gardens.

“Whoa,” he instinctively held out his hands to stop her from falling. “Are you okay?”

“What are you doing here?” She blurted, wincing slightly at her tone.

Kylo chuckled, unfazed. “This is my parents’ house.”

“Your par – oh. OH,” Eloise’s eyes widened at the realization. His mother was Senator Organa, and was primarily why he went by a different surname on campus. “This is _their_ house.”

“It is,” he nodded. “It’s interesting that you don’t know whose property you’re essentially trespassing on.”

“Oh, no, no, no,” Eloise waved her hands as if to physically shift away the accusation. “I’m not trespassing. My professor brought me along; you mom called her to fix a problem with the plants in the greenhouse.”

“I was kidding,” Kylo smirked with a light chuckle.

Eloise looked at him blankly. “I knew that.” She cleared her throat, hoping that the burning in her cheeks wasn’t a visible blush. “So, um…I haven’t seen you in a while, but you look…better. Happier. Did something good happen?”

“I quit my job.” He stated simply.

Eloise blinked owlishly. “Oh.”

“It’s a good thing, really,” he reassured her. “My uncle knows someone at the quantum field research institute over in the next town and they offered me a job.” He looked away from Eloise, back towards the large house behind him. “And my mom called me. My parents…we’d had a falling out a while back and we all decided it was time to reconcile.”

Eloise smiled. “That’s great,” she told him, genuinely happy.

So she was right – he _had_ been alone.

She knew she couldn’t – and shouldn’t – claim all the responsibility for the positive changes that had been made in Kylo’s life, but she knew the positive energy she’d put out for him certainly helped.

“You know,” Kylo began, “it’s a little silly, but the doodles you drew must’ve really been good luck because good things had been happening to him since you started.”

Eloise merely gave a small, breathy laugh – she didn’t know if she should feel as if she’d been praised, or if the slight sting in her chest from Kylo’s dismissal was warranted. After all, a lot of people were non-believers.

_Stay positive…pick the former._

“It’s weird, but I kind of feel like I owe you,” he continued. “Do you think, maybe, I could take you out to dinner some time?”

“What?” Eloise was bemused. “You don’t owe me any – you really don’t have to –”

“I want to,” Kylo insisted. “Maybe for reasons other than using my so-called debt to you as an excuse.”

That’s it. She was definitely blushing now.

“Sure,” she agreed. “Dinner would be…nice.”

“Great,” Kylo smiled; they exchange numbers, with Kylo promising to text her.

|||

At home that night, Eloise ripped through the boxes in her closet.

She had once made a leather wristband for Toby – she’d planned to give it to him for their anniversary, but he’d broken up with her before she had the chance. After that, it had been cast away to languish in the depths of a box inside her closet.

Finally, she found it.

In the center of the thick black leather cuff, set vertically, was a thick, shined, rectangular stone of black tourmaline blended with clear quartz.

Now, Eloise just had to give it to him.

Wait, what?

Eloise looked around her, surveying the destruction that she’d unleashed on her bedroom as her actions finally hit her.

What the hell was she doing? Why the hell did she care so much? She narrowed her eyes as she glared unfocused at her bedside table.

It’d be so much easier to rationalize her actions by blaming them on some faceless third-party who’d had a mystical involvement in the situation. So much easier, yet highly unlikely.

With a whiny sigh, she fell back against the floor, whimpering as her head was whacked with the edge of a shoebox. She smacked the offending box away, resting her head against the hardwood floor.

What to do? What to do?

Well, when in doubt set something on fire.

With a torrent of grumbles and sigh of frustrations spilling from her mouth, Eloise trudged into her kitchen and grabbed a pair of candles. She wouldn’t bother with anointing them or carving a sigil – in her hazy, confused mind she’d probably mix things up and trigger an apocalypse.

She lit a deep blue candle for inspiration and a yellow candle for mental clarity and to bring plans into action. She stared at the flickering flames of the two candles.

Nothing – but small magic took time.

Maybe she could figure out what was going on in her own head by the time Kylo texted to set up their date.

One could only hope.


	3. Chapter 3

Eloise looked at the back of the bus as it drove away – it was late, it was raining, and that was the last bus of the night.

She’d been cramming at the campus library for an upcoming test; the weather forecast didn’t predict rain so she didn’t have an umbrella with her. She hadn’t been paying attention and had gotten off at the wrong stop.

“Goddammit,” she muttered, ducking under the cover of the bus stop to pull out her phone. A taxi was her only option at this point.

“Eloise?” She heard her name being called.

She looked over and saw Kylo standing a few feet away, a black umbrella held over his head, a bag of takeout from the nearby Chinese restaurant at his side.

“I thought that was you,” he remarked, the corner of his lips quirking in a smile before he actually looked at her and registered her current state His eyes suddenly widened. “Oh god, are you okay? Did you get caught in the storm?”

“I got off at the wrong stop,” she explained. “I stayed at the library later than I’d planned, and as my luck would have it that was the last bus.”

“My apartment’s close by; you can dry off there,” he invited, bringing her underneath the shelter of his umbrella. “Crap, you're shaking.” He brought her to his apartment, adjusting the umbrella so it covered her more than him, even though she was already soaked to the bone. “I can drive you home once the rain lets up; no sense in you calling a cab or anything now that I’m here.”

His eyes roamed the length of her body once he’d closed the door to his apartment behind him; Eloise briefly wondered how much he could see through her shirt.

“Here, follow me; the bathroom's this way.” She followed where he led you and found herself standing awkwardly behind him in his bathroom as he fished through his cupboards for a towel. “You should take off those wet clothes before you get sick. I’ll see if I can find something that might fit you.”

He moved back through the door and closed it behind him, leaving Eloise alone. Moments later, the power flickered in the apartment and gave out, leaving her shivering in a dark bathroom. She heard Kylo curse loudly from another room.

She contemplated waiting for him to return with new clothes, but there was no telling how long it would take him with the power having gone out and the clothes she was wearing were heavy, cold, sticky, and wet against her skin. Plus, even if he did come back, it was dark enough that he probably wouldn’t even see anything.

She began peeling the wet garments off of your skin, dropping them into the general area where she thought the bathtub had been. She’d pulled off her bra and panties – hopefully Kylo would bring sweatpants and nothing made of denim – and was patting herself dry with the towel when a light flashed on her. She looked up in surprise, her hands automatically covering herself with the towel.

“Shit,” she heard Kylo hiss as the light vanished, plunging the bathroom into darkness once more. “Oh my god; I’m so sorry. I should’ve knocked.”

“That’s, um…” she trailed off, unsure of how to respond. “Did you bring some dry clothes?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. They’re right here on the counter.”

“Where on the counter?” She asked, moving towards the sound of his voice.

“Over here.” He stated, his voice sounding even deeper as the noise reverberated off the tiles.

Eloise moved closer to where she’d heard him, her hands outstretched, and started when she felt a warm, muscular arm underneath her fingertips.

“No, that would be me,” he told her, and she could swear she could hear the smile in his voice.

Was he…flirting right now?

She moved her hands along his arm – oh god, she could feel the _veins_ – and was then met with his chest. It felt firm under her fingertips, and she couldn’t resist poking it – did he have an eight-pack or something? The firm muscles tightened under her touch as he laughed.

“Still me.”

“Can’t you just hand me the clothes?” She asked, a whiny chuckle escaping her. Her hands moved along his body to his other arm, intending to find the clothes on the counter by his hand, but instead found empty warm fingers.

“What?” She muttered. “You said they were on the counter; where are they?”

Kylo chuckled lightly, his fingers flexing in her grip, rubbing his thumb across the palm of her hand. “I might’ve accidentally knocked them onto the floor on purpose.”

Eloise snorted, “Accidentally on purpose?”

“Maybe it was a bit more ‘on purpose’ than accidental,” he replied. “Or maybe I just dropped them once I came in here.”

Well, fuck. He wasn’t even trying to deny that he’d seen her completely naked.

“So…what; is that your way of telling me I should get on my knees?”

Fuck. _Fuck_. Goddamn her dumb mouth that spit out stupidity before she could think.

She heard him clear his throat, a few moments passed before he spoke again. “Not really, but…are you offering?”

Her breath caught in her throat. “…am I?”

“Fuck, I hope so.” He confessed with a sigh.

She could hear her heart thumping noisily, wondering if he could hear it too, as their steady breathing nearly synchronized in the stillness of the room. Tentatively, Eloise lifted a hand to press against his chest once more.

She could feel his warmth through his shirt – acutely aware of her own nakedness as the remaining chill clung to her – his muscles tensing at her touch, his chest rising and falling with every breath.

She drew in a shaky breath as she felt his calloused fingertips lightly graze against the skin of her hips, shivering as they moved slowly until his entire hand was resting against her. The warm hand was joined by its twin on the other side of her hip, both traveling behind her to the small of her back.

She stepped forward as he pulled her, until she was flush against him and could feel his warm breath against her lips. One of his hands pulled away from her back and she closed her eyes, waiting for it to cup her face. Instead, she gave a slight flinch as a sudden light appeared – she cracked open an eye to see that he’d turned on his phone so that the light from his lock screen could illuminate their figures.

She looked to his face, the soft glow enough to see the clearly evident look of desire in his dark eyes as stared back down at her.

“Sorry,” he said, his voice not apologetic at all as his tongue darted out to wet his lips. “I just had to see you one more time.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a little unfair?” She whispered, watching as the shifting shadows against his face accentuated his lips and yet made him look sinister at the same time. “After all, I’m the only one without clothes.”

“I never said I was fair,” he murmured. “But I suppose I could be just this once.”

He set his phone down and untangled the other hand from her waist, pulling his shirt off quickly and dropping it with a soft plop on the bathroom floor.

Her eyes roamed his body, greedily taking in the sight of his pale skin dotted with moles; he definitely had a well-defined abdomen. Eloise didn’t dare stop her hands from appreciating them as he pushed down his shorts along with his underwear.

Her eyes widened as she watched as his dick sprung up as his clothes were cast aside. She was having a hard time catching her breath – he was perfect. So fucking beautiful.

She was trying to contemplate what air even was when she felt his mouth descend on hers.

Screw breathing.

His thick lips were so kissable, so suckable. Her hands flew up to tangle in his dark locks as his hands found her breasts, moaning against his lips as he pushed his tongue into her mouth.

The light from his phone timed out, the small room once again plunged into darkness, as she felt him pinch at her nipple. It was light at first – testing, teasing – but a harder pinch followed soon after. Eloise whimpered into his mouth as he bit down on her bottom lip, pulling in unison with his delicious assault against her nipples.

Unable to see anything in the darkness, each one of his movements seemed heightened.

And then a thought entered her mind – unbidden, but certainly not unwelcome.

What if Kylo – the hot former-professor that had seemed so reserved, so sad and withdrawn – was into rough sex? There was just something about the way his fingertips handled her skin; something in the way he bit down on her lips.

It was always the quiet ones that surprised people the most.

His mouth moved away from her lips as he kissed and nipped and sucked his way down her jaw to her neck; she could feel the wetness pooling in between her legs at the fiery touch of his lips. She felt his tongue lick against the sensitive skin below her ear, his teeth biting down lightly. She shivered as he blew softly against the wet skin he left behind, and he gave a low chuckle at her reaction.

“This wasn’t how I imagined it,” he whispered lowly into her ear. “I was going to romance you properly, but I have a feeling about you.”

Her head cocked to the side. “Oh? What kind of feeling?”

He pressed his lips against her neck once more, and she heard him inhale, feeling his fingers tighten slightly against her skin.

“You want to be romanced, just not behind the bedroom door.” His deep voice reverberated through her. “You don’t want me to be sweet to you; you don’t want it gently. You want me to be rough, don’t you?”

The breath that Eloise wasn’t even aware she’d been holding whooshed out with a whimper as she nodded helplessly. Never before had she been spoken to so boldly, so frankly…and she’d be a goddamn liar if she said it didn’t turn her on even more.

“Kylo,” she whispered, and he grinned as he heard the desperation in her voice.

Eloise moved her hands down his abdomen, over each ridge of the defined muscles, wanting to feel his hardness in his hand. She wanted to stroke him, to –

She was almost there when his hands encased her wrists in a firm grip.

“I like hearing the sound of my name in your mouth,” he leaned in closer, so that his lips brushed against the shell of her ear as he whispered. “Now, let’s see if my dick feels that nice in your mouth. Get down on your knees.”

She sucked in a breath through her teeth as he pressed her lips against his, trailing down his neck, his chest, nipping and sucking wherever she could until she reached the trail of hair that pointed to her destination. His hands fell from her wrists as one found purchase in her hair, the other scrabbling to steady himself against the countertop, as he sighed and gasped at her touches.

It was easy to find his hardness despite the darkness, placing a small kiss at the tip. She relished at the little noises coming from in as she tasted him, just the drop of wetness at the tip, before encasing his length as best as she could with her mouth. She ran her tongue along the underside of his cock, pressing against the veins as she took him in. As she pulled back to the tip, she swirled her tongue around his sensitive head.

She smiled at his appreciative moan, stroking at his length to touch whatever she couldn’t fit in her mouth. The fingers that had wound its way into her hair tightened as she descended once more. Relaxing her throat, she sank down further until she could feel his head hit the back of her throat.

She felt his fingers tense again, a soft squeak coming from the countertop as his other hand gripped the marble tighter – she could feel him strain as he fought to control himself. So she gave him control of her.

She wished she could see the look on his face when he realized she was giving him silent permission to fuck her mouth as she heard his admiring gasp. His free hand moved to her jaw, holding it firmly as he pushed his hips forward, guiding his length inside her mouth at a slowly increasing pace.

She felt him hit the back of her throat again, this time more roughly, and she felt her eyes water at the feeling. She fought off the urge to gag, fighting to keep her throat relaxed.

“Fuck…I wish I could see you right now,” he groaned. “I bet you’d look so beautiful taking my cock; so perfect.”

She felt the pool of wetness in between her legs grow into a lake – at both his words and the feeling of his fingers knotting tightly into her hair as he pushed further. She couldn’t keep from gagging that time, a choked moan falling from his lips as he felt her throat convulse around him.

She heard him curse under his breath as he wrenched away; Eloise was about to ask him if she’d did something wrong, but the words caught in her throat as he pulled her to her feet.

Kylo kissed her hungrily, his hands running down the length of her back and cupping her ass. She felt him pull against her and she jumped, wrapping her legs around his waist as he began moving through the darkness.

She felt dizzy, disoriented. He knew where he was going even in the dark, but all she could sense was that he was spinning on his heels and turning corners. She just held tighter, trusting that he actually did know where he was going, sighing as each movement caused his cock to slide against her core.

And then she felt herself falling – landing on top of Kylo as he collapsed against his bed, pulling her over him to straddle his waist.

"Ride me. Fuck me.” He begged hoarsely, his hands gripping her thighs tightly. “I want to feel you cum on my cock.”

Eloise sat up on her heels and guided his length into her – she was surprised at how big he truly was; she knew he had an impressive girth from what she felt in her mouth, but feeling him slide into her slick heat was another matter entirely. She could feel him hit every inch of her as she lowered herself onto him.

She paused for a moment, allowing herself to adjust, before she felt as if she could move again. As she rocked against him she could feel him push up against her. She could tell by the way he hissed through his teeth and the way his fingers gripped her that he wanted her to move faster, but she wouldn’t – couldn’t. It was too much, she felt too full – the feeling of him inside of her was still all too new.

But Kylo wasn’t a mind reader – he wanted a quicker pace and by god, he was going to get it. His hands shifted to her hips, pulling her down against him as he bucked into her. He moaned as she clenched around him, crying out from above.

The sound of their panting breaths and slapping skin was accompanied by a sudden whir as the air conditioner began circulating again. The room was bathed in a bright light as the power turned back on.

From below, Kylo looked up at Eloise as she rode him, her eyes locking on his as soon as they’d adjusted. With her completely exposed to him – and not having to rely on his phone for light – Kylo was entranced. His hands gripped her breasts, entranced by the way they bounced with each movement, flicking and pinching at her nipples.

Eloise gave a strained whimper - seeing him so suddenly, right in the middle of sex, was shocking and exciting. Almost like waking up from a dream and to find that it’s come true.

His teeth ground against each other as his grip became harsher, each thrust pounding harder into her core.

How was a quantum mechanics professor, albeit a former one, so strong?

Eloise felt her climax building, he was hitting her sweet spot continuously that the coil was being pulled tighter and tighter. She closed her eyes as she felt his hand run up her body, past her breasts, and coming to rest in a gentle grip around her throat.

The coil was pulled so tight that she was helpless, letting it snap apart as her orgasm consumed her. She was lost to it as she felt Kylo’s thumb press against the artery of her neck; her eyes rolled back in her head as she trembled through the final waves of her release. His thumb released as his hand moved to the back of her head, keeping her upright as the euphoria turned her bones to liquid.

He gently guided her down so her ear was level with his mouth, his hip never ceasing in their movements, “Did you like that? My hands on your throat, choking you as you came on my cock?”

Though his hands were gone, Eloise’s throat still felt constricted; she couldn’t speak and could only nod as a response. She felt him smile against his ear as he rolled them over. She gasped as he pulled out, her thoughts confused – he hadn’t cum yet; surely he wasn’t done yet.

“Turn around,” he commanded darkly.

It was difficult, her limbs had barely solidified into jelly, but with the assistance of his large hands she rolled over onto her stomach. She could feel his hands rubbing between her thighs, his fingertips teasing her lips and making an even bigger mess of her.

“Get on your hands and knees.”

She complied, despite the sluggishness of her movements. She could feel the mattress move underneath her as Kylo shifted his position, his hands rubbing the flesh of her ass.

“So beautiful,” he murmured, and Eloise yelped as she felt a hard slap against her ass. He chuckled as he soothed the stinging flesh with the palm of his hand. “Was that too hard?” He asked softly, his voice gentle he learned her limits.

She shook her head, twisting her hands into the sheets beneath her. “I’m alright. Please.”

“Such a good girl,” he sighed, as his hand fell sharply against the other cheek.

She panted as he kneaded the flesh, her back arching in anticipation for the next hit. But there was none. Instead, she felt the head of his cock press against her center, lining himself up and pushing inside roughly.

There would be bruised in the shape of his fingers where he gripped her so hard, perhaps even the indentation of his fingerprints.

She lost all control of her legs as he fucked into her, lifting her so he could hit the angle he sought after. His pace was unforgiving and she could see stars prick the edges of her vision, her cries muffled as she shoved her face into the pillows.

A supernova erupted within her, the stars in her eyes exploding as the intense orgasm rocked her. His moans turned euphoric as he felt her walls flutter around him, his own release punching through him without warning.

His hips never slowed as he rode out his orgasm, spilling into her until there was nothing left. His grip never let up even as his hips stilled, his heart pounding against his ribcage as his breath fell from him in sharp wheezes.

With a hiss he pulled out of her, watching in fascination as their intermingled cum leaked out of her as she collapsed against the sheets. His strength finally failing him as his adrenaline depleted, he tumbled down next to her.

Eloise shifted so she could look at him, Kylo shifting so he was lying on his back, looking at the ceiling. She watched as a wide smile took over his face, laughing as his tongue swiped against his lower lip.

“Holy fuck; that was incredible,” he gave a soft chuckled, rolling over to press a kiss against her cheeks.

She stared at him in surprise – the man lying next to her seemed so different than the one she’d spoken to in the coffee shop, and miles away from the man who had been fucking her so roughly just a few moments ago. He seemed so carefree, almost boyish. She couldn’t help but mirror his smile.

“Yeah, that was pretty intense – all of that in the darkness,” she mumble sleepily, the last of her energy drained with her smile.

He stared at her, his eyes wide. “I know! In the bathroom, I couldn’t see you but I could feel everything. That’s why I had to stop you; I almost came in your mouth in there.”

Eloise snorted, “Next time, I guess.”

“Ooh, don’t tease me woman,” he grinned devilishly, kissing her on the cheek once more before jumping off the bed and walking out to the bathroom. “Here, you can wear this.”

She propped herself up on her elbows jut as the shirt he threw landed on her face, draping over the back of her head. She could hear him laughing from the bathroom as she pulled the shirt off her head and onto her body.

“Whoops,” he laughed. “Sorry.”

“Are you?” She wondered teasingly.

“Maybe only a little.” He winked. “Come on; let’s get you something to eat and then we can turn off the lights and do it again.”


	4. Chapter 4

Eloise woke the next morning tangled in the bedsheets – squinting as she rolled over and the sunlight streaming through the window falling across her face. She yawned and stretched, and tilted her head in confusion as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

These weren’t her sheets…this wasn’t her bed.

And then she remembered that she’d fallen asleep at Kylo’s house. After their second round of the night – a blush creeping up Eloise’s cheeks at the memory – they’d passed out from sheer exhaustion.

Her dry clothes had been folded and placed on the edge of the bed; she folded the shirt she’d slept in and put it where her clothes had sat, pulling them on before heading down the hall and to the kitchen. Kylo was tending to cuts of bacon in a pan, his back turned to her.

“Morning,” she greeted, causing him to startle and turn to face her.

“Oh, good morning,” he gave her a small smile. “Did you sleep well?”

Eloise laughed lightly, “Yeah, I did.”

“That’s good,” he cleared his throat, his expression shifting to something unreadable. “I, um, I didn’t plan for our first…anything to be like that. Don’t get me wrong; I really enjoyed it, I just don’t want you to think that I only wanted to go out with you because I wanted to sleep with you.”

“No,” she shook her head lightly. “I thought you wanted to go out with me because of some convoluted sense of debt.”

Kylo chuckled. “Yeah, that was a pretty terrible excuse. You know, when I first met you and you were Toby’s girlfriend, I have to admit that I was disappointed and a little jealous.  Does it make me a bad person if it made me happy when you told me you weren’t dating him anymore?”

A small smile flitted across her lips, “No, I don’t think so.”

“No?” He quirked an eyebrow.

“Okay, maybe a little,” she admitted.

There was a comfortable silence as they ate breakfast that morning. Kylo, true to his word, drove Eloise home before heading to work.

“So…tomorrow night, then?” Kylo wondered as Eloise climbed out of his car.

“Of course; maybe we might actually have a traditional date,” Eloise grinned.

“Oh, how boring,” he winked.

|||

Their first date was, by all accounts, a traditional one.

Kylo brought her to his favorite Italian bistro, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant with only six tables. The lighting was dim and a single candle was placed in the center of their table.

“You know,” Kylo hummed, “I’d been interested in it for a while, but after the other night I’m more sure than ever that I want to try that ‘eating in the dark’ experience.”

“Seriously?” Eloise chuckled. “I mean, some things I being done in the dark I get, but eating? What if you have to cut a steak or something and you accidentally almost saw your hand off?”

Kylo snorted, “Well, obviously they wouldn’t serve anything that needed the involvement of sharp objects. That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.”

“ _That_ we can agree on.”

“So, I never asked,” Kylo began, changing the subject. “I know your major has something to do with plants, but I’m ashamed to say I don’t know exactly what it is.”

“No, that’s not a problem,” Eloise waved his concerns away. “We never really got a chance to really talk before now. I’m getting my masters in plant pathology.”

“So…like a plant doctor?”

She chuckled. “Exactly like a plant doctor.”

“That’s pretty cool; and it explains why you were helping out with the greenhouse. My mom is a lot of things, but a gardener is not one of them.” He grinned. “Why did you choose plant pathology, of all things?”

Eloise shrugged. “It just always kind of been my thing, I guess. My favorite book as a kid was _The Secret Garden_ – cliché, I know, but there was something that stuck with my little kid mind about the magic of a garden. And my mom had this beautiful garden at the house I grew up in and she took great care of it. I guess I fell in love with it; I helped her with it up until we moved when my dad got transferred and our new house wasn’t in a place that could support one. At my new school I joined the gardening club. I’ve never really deviated from doing things with plants, and I didn’t want to grow up to _just_ be a gardener, so plant pathology seemed like a good route…wow, I’ve talked way too much. Someone get the hook.”

“No, no,” he smiled reassuringly. “I think it’s great that you found you passion so early. I kind of sailed through life directionless until quantum mechanics found me. I was flipping through channels one day and I came across a documentary about it. It kind of stuck with me and once I got into college I picked it as my major.”

“And the new job?” She wondered. “How’s that working for you?”

Kylo gave a relieved sigh. “It’s so much better than being a professor. I mean, I was good at it – I know what I’m talking about, after all – but actually getting to _do something_ with what I’ve learned is just so…fulfilling. But what about you? Once you’re finished with your Master’s program, what’s your next step?”

“Well, I could be a research assistant or teach,” she gave a teasing grin in Kylo’s direction. “But I really want to work at a botanical garden somewhere.”

“Have you given any thought as to where?”

“Have I?” She gave a small snort. “Golden Gate Park in San Francisco has their botanical gardens and the conservatory of flowers. The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden has 15 types of gardens, a conservatory and a kid’s garden with a small water park. And, a tea house. And the New York Botanical Gardens has 250 acres and – I just – oh my god, I can’t even put it into words. If I had to choose a top one _that_ would be it.”

She looked over to Kylo to see him staring at her with a soft smile on his face.

“Oh no,” she deflated. “I was rambling again, wasn’t I?”

“Don’t be embarrassed. I think it’s cute.” He told her. “I’m sorry, not cute; incredibly attractive.”

Eloise snorted, but blushed regardless of the cheesiness.

|||

After dinner, Eloise and Kylo walked through the nearby park. Kylo enjoyed asking about every plan they came across as they meandered down the pathway towards the ice cream store.

“And that one?” He asked, pointing to another tree.

“It’s the same as the last five spruce trees,” she chuckled, nudging him lightly in his arm.

But her good mood quickly soured and the pit of her stomach dropped out as she saw who was in the center of the three figures walking the opposite way on the path she and Kylo were on.

“Hey, Kylo!” The middle figure called. “What’s up, man?”

Toby. Her ex.

Perfect.

Toby’s eyes flitted from Kylo to Eloise and back to the tall male. “What’s, uh…what’s going on?”

“Oh, Eloise and I went out to dinner and now we’re on our way to get some ice cream,” Kylo told him amiably, having no clue as to the bad blood between Eloise and her ex.

“What, like a date?” Toby scoffed.

“Is there a problem?” Kylo inquired, noticing the way Eloise had tensed beside him.

“I know you’re a nice guy and all, but I think you’ve taken the concept of charity too far,” Toby jeered, his friends laughing beside him. “C’mon man, you’re so much smarter than that. The girl thinks she’s some kind of witch for Christ’s sake.”

And there it was. The searing pain of the amalgamation of hurt and embarrassment she’d become all too familiar with when she and Toby were dating.

“Well this has been super fun,” she gave a sardonic smile. “But I’m going to go.”

Without a goodbye, she turned and walked off. She heard Kylo call after her, but she also heard Toby and his friends telling him not to bother, that letting her go was ‘for his own good’.

When she reached home, she contemplated her collection of candles, but did nothing.

What was the use, anyways?


	5. Chapter 5

Eloise was shouting at the Fates, at God, at the horribly uninspired author that was scripting her life as she stepped out of the coffee shop after her shift.

Kylo was there.

Eloise almost walked past him, her embarrassment and need to protect her still-delicate ego morphing into defiance and a churlish attitude, until she noticed his face. He was sporting a busted lip and a small bruised cut on his cheekbone. She was sure if she looked at his hands, there’d be tiny cut and bruises on his knuckles as well.

“What…happened?” She asked, hiding her concern behind nonchalance, adding a vague gesture in his direction for emphasis.

“Toby; after you left he and I got into a fight,” he sniffed, and she noticed belatedly the redness surrounding his nose. Toby must’ve landed a hit there as well.

“Why?” Eloise wondered, still attempting to maintain her air of uncaring.

“I didn’t like the way he was talking to you,” he confessed. “Talking at you, really; calling you names. That and how he and his friends stopped me from going after you. Was that how he talked to you when you were dating?”

Eloise nodded, the façade slowly slipping away.

“You didn’t…you _don’t_ deserve to be treated like that.” He went on. “I may not have known you long…but I truly do like you Eloise.”

“Wait…what?” She sputtered, all pretense shocked away.

“I like you...a lot. I mean I _really_ like you. I’m not sure where I stand with you, or what exactly this relationship is, or where it’s going. Especially since all the interactions we’ve had have either been short, or…sexual, or completely ruined by assholes like last night. All I know is that I really like being with you.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you like me?” She asked. “I mean, like you said, all the times we’ve been around each other have been short or sexual or whatever. All we really know about each other is the kind of stuff you’d put on a social media profile, minus the annoying political stuff, so all you _actually_ know about me is that I’m the weird coffee girl that thinks she’s a witch and draws sigils on your coffee cup.”

“You think I didn’t know what those were?” Kylo interrupted. “I might be a science nerd but I know the sigil for ‘have a good day’ when I see it. I just didn’t call you out on it when I asked because I didn’t want to put you on the spot or anything. And so what if we don’t know anything about each other past the surface level; we’re just starting to get to know each other – that stuff is supposed to take time.”

“You mean, like…” she trailed off. “I just thought you wanted to keep things between us more in the casual realm and now I’m just confused.”

“Yeah, I know and I’m sorry.” He sighed. “And I can understand why you would be; after our ‘pre-date’ and then what happened after our first date I’m afraid that you haven’t really gotten the best impression of me outside of any kind of casual interaction we’d had before.” He paused, his eyebrows knitting as he seemed to deliberate something. “You know I’m not seeing anyone else right?”

Eloise simply stared at him. Where did that come from? In fact, this whole conversation had spun her for a loop.

“I’ve fallen for you…pretty bad.” He confessed. “And I really would like to get to know you past the stuff you put on a social media profile. So, would you consider being my girlfriend?”

“Are you serious?” She gave a nervous chuckle.

“Well, I’m not just whistling Dixie,” he said before his features drew into a pained wince. “God, did I really just say that?”

“Wow, you really do like me,” she mused, bewildered, as she stared at him. “I’ve got you all flustered.”

“Yeah, and I’m also nervous and self-conscious which brings me back to my high school days and that’s not exactly what I want to be feeling right now.”

Eloise drew in a steadying breath as she stared him down. “Okay,” she gave a small smile. “I’ll be your girlfriend, but I reserve the right to kick your ass if you turn into a jerk like Toby.”

“Deal,” he nodded rapidly. “That’s more than fair.”

“And,” she fished in her bag for her keys, tossing them at him. “You have to drive me home.”

He quirked an eyebrow in her direction as his eyes darted from her keys to her face, and when a shy smirk crossed her lips an impish one reflected on his.

“I can do that.”

|||

Kylo ran his fingers through her hair, pulling her face to his and kissing her hard. Her hands wrapped around his back, the tips of her fingers curling against the dark locks that sprouted from the base of his neck. As she massaged the flesh of his neck, he gave a soft moan as his lips left a trail of hickeys in their wake as he moved down towards her shoulder.

Eloise moaned, her hands tugging at the soft brown locks as his fingers unbuttoned her work shirt and slid it off her shoulders, kissing the exposed skin softly. He nudged her chin with his nose, kissing the underside of her jaw as he moved down the other side of her throat.

His fingers teased at the straps of her bra as his lips reached her chest, his teeth nipping at her breasts as he pulled them off her shoulders and reached around to unhook her bra. She moaned, dropping her arms from his back, as his fingernails scraped lightly against her flesh as he pulled the garment off.

A sigh caught in her throat as he cupped her breasts, his tongue flicking against her nipple and coaxing a moan out of her. She felt his cock throb between them as he took her breast into his mouth, sucking on the sensitive flesh as his fingers toyed with her other breast. Eloise moaned, pulling his head closer to her as his hands trailed down her back to cup her ass, giving it a small squeeze as he turned his attentions towards her other breast. His teeth and tongue nibbled and flicked at her nipple, gasps of pleasure spilling from her mouth as he toyed with her.

“Fuck me so hard I can’t go to work tomorrow.” She whimpered, the soft kneading turning into a harsh grip as Kylo stilled.

Kylo made noise that sounded somewhere in between a laugh and a groan as he pulled up to his full height, resting his forehead against hers. “You’re killing me.” Eloise gave a soft laugh, her fingers tracing nondescript patterns on his shoulder blades. He looked down at her, his thumb tracing along her jawline. “Is that what you really want?” She nodded. “Really?”

“Ask me again and I’ll do it myself,” she warned playfully.

His hands fell to her waist, his grip almost painful as the fabric of her jeans bit into her skin. “Like hell you will.” His lips met hers in a bruising, possessive kiss as he lifted her up, her legs winding around his waist. “Where do you want me?”

“Anywhere,” she moaned against his lips. “Everywhere.”

She gasped as he leaned down, her back hitting the cool surface of her dining table.

“Then let’s start here.”

They divested each other of their remaining clothing, their lips never leaving at least some part of the other. When they were both bare, Kylo slid her along the slick surface so her ass rested at the edge of the table. His grin took on a devilish edge as she whined underneath him, his hands pinning her wrists to the table as he kissed and nipped the soft flesh of her thighs, hitting every part except where she wanted him most.

He hovered over her for a moment, his burning gaze immobilizing her, before his mouth came down on her pussy. A strangled moan escaped her and her hips lifted off the table, bucking against him; his eyelids fluttered as she rocked against his lips, his groan reverberating through her.

She tried to lift her hands, desperately wanting to grab him by the hair and push him further into her, but his grip tightened against her wrists. Almost as in punishment, he pulled back and licked lightly at her clit, enough to stimulate her but not enough to pull her to the brink. She whimpered and begged; he looked up at her, his eyes glittering in mischief as he gave her a slow, open mouthed kiss on her pussy.

“Mmm,” he groaned, his eyes rolling back in his head at the mere sight of her back arching as she gave a sharp cry. “I love how you’re so wet for me.”

His mouth burrowed into her, his tongue delving deep into her core as she whimpered and rocked up against him. He pulled against her wrists, bringing them towards him and forcing her back to arch just enough to get her at the right angle as he tongue fucked her; his teeth scraped against her clit sending jolts of pleasure down her spine.

“Fuck, Kylo,” Eloise cried. “That feels so good.”

His eyes were hooded as he watched her writhe on the table, his tongue flicking across her clit. He guided on hand to his head, her fingers curling eagerly into his hair, as he slipped two digits into her sopping core. She cried out as he began thrusting his fingers, his thumb working her stiffened clit.

“That’s right, sweet girl,” he purred. “Moan for me; I love hearing how good I make you feel.”

His fingers moved faster, his fingers curling as he hit her sweet spot over and over. She began rolling her hips to meet his fingers, his whispered praises and encouragements spurring her on as the pleasure mounted.

“Goddamn, you’re beautiful,” he growled, his tongue darting out to flick at her clit between thrusts. “I could cum just watching you like this.”

His lips sealed around her clit, another finger joining in as he brought her over the edge; she cursed loudly as she unraveled, his ministrations continuing as he lapped up her juices, stopping only when she cried out once the overstimulation became too much.

He gently detangled her fingers from his hair, wrapping her arms around his neck as he lifted her off the table.

“Can you walk?” He asked, pressing soft kisses against her lips.

“Totally,” she mumbled, earning a low chuckle from Kylo.

“Well, just to be safe…” Like before, he wrapped her legs around his waist, groaning slightly as her soaked core rubbed against his torso. “Where’s your room?”

Eloise pointed in the direction of her bedroom and he walked towards it, his hands gripping her ass as he carried her. She could taste herself in his mouth as he kissed her, pressing her back against one of the walls in her bedroom as soon as they passed the threshold. His hands left her ass, her legs shifting and her feet touching down on the floor as his fingers gripped the base of her neck and angled her mouth upwards so he could claim her lips more thoroughly.

Her nails traced down his chest, enjoying the way he shivered when they scraped along his abs. Her fingertips made their way to his cock, the tip wet with precum and twitching under her light touch. She pushed Kylo back slightly so she could kneel down, smiling as she heard his appreciative groan as she took his length entirely into her mouth, his hands slamming against her wall in an effort to stop his knees from buckling.

She could hear his nails scraping against the wall as the tip hit the back of her throat, a sharp gasp falling from him as she repeated the action.

“So much better when I can see you,” he whispered. “But you’ve got to stop, sweet girl.”

“Why?” She questioned, swirling her tongue around his tip.

“You’re going to make me cum, and I want to cum buried deep inside you.”

Eloise giggled mischievously, beginning to slide down his length again when his fingers twisted harshly in her hair and pulled her away.

“Don’t be difficult,” he cautioned. “I’m having a hard time controlling myself as it is.”

“Then stop trying to control yourself.”

“You’re asking for it,” Kylo warned her.

“No,” the tip of her tongue darted out, licking him one final time. “I’m begging for it.”

With a growl, Kylo’s hand cupped the back of her neck, his other curling around her back as he practically threw her onto her bed, sinking his length into her in one swift motion. They groaned simultaneously, Kylo pausing for a moment as he relished the sensation of being inside of her.

His hips rolled, slowly, as his lips found her ear. “Is this what you want?”

“Yes.” She whimpered. “No.”

He pulled back sharply, his eyebrows furrowed. “No?”

“Faster.” She pleaded, trying to buck her hips up against him. “I need it faster.”

He laughed darkly, his tortuously slow pace resuming. “Not yet.”

“But Kylo – ”

“Don’t be greedy, sweet girl.”

He started to roll his hips against her, shifting so his cock hit different angles inside of her; his arms slipped under the small of her back so she was arched, her hands gripping his biceps as she let the feel of him wash over her.

He kissed his way down the column of her throat, leaving his mark just under one of her collarbones, before reaching his desired destination of her breasts. Her head fell back against her pillows as licked, nipped, and suckled on what seemed to be his new favorite part of her from all the attention he was paying them.

Kylo lifted his head, watching as Eloise panted under him, the desire to go slow shattering as her eyes flitted open and she peered at him through her eyelashes. He cursed, surging forward to claim her lips as his hips snapped against her, his pace unforgiving yet just what she wanted.

He bit her neck gently, leaving a small mark there before moving to her shoulder, her other collarbone – wanting to leave his mark wherever he could. He breathed out a curse as she wrapped her legs higher around his waist, allowing him to push even deeper.

“Kylo,” she sobbed, her nails scraping down his back.

“God, I love hearing you moan my name,” he grunted, feeling his climax building steadily. “I want you to scream it when you cum, sweet girl. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, anything,” she pleaded, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Just please don’t stop.”

And he didn’t – his eyes closed as he fucked into her, his tip brushing against her cervix. The feel of her tight wetness around his cock and the whimpers and moans falling from her lips propelled him closer and closer to his climax – but he’d be damned if he came before her.

“Oh, fuck!” She cried, holding onto him for dear life as the heat in her abdomen washed over her, her orgasm clouding her thoughts with pure ecstasy. “Kylo!”

That was it; he broke, his eyes rolling back into his skull as his head snapped back, his rhythm stuttering as his own climax vaulted him over the edge. He cursed through gritted teeth, riding out his orgasm until all that was left was blissful exhaustion.

Kylo let himself fall to the side so as not to crush Eloise, an arm still hooked under her back. His head rested against her shoulder, his skin tinged red from exertion, both of them sweaty and exhausted as they fought to catch their breaths.

“So, your kind of witchcraft is sigils and candles, right?” Kylo asked out of the blue.

Eloise groaned, covering her face with her hands. “Oh my god, you have the worst pillow talk ever.”

“I’m just curious, that’s all. I find it interesting that you went that route given your proclivity for plants and nature,” he went on. “Why aren’t you a green witch?”

She peeked at him through her fingers. “A what?”

“A green witch,” he repeated, watching as she lowered her hands completely.

“I have no idea what that is,” she confessed. “Most of what I learned is from a friend I met my senior year of high school. They never mentioned any other kind of witchcraft and I never really thought to see if there was.”

“On a really simple level, a green witch relies on the energies of natural objects rather than things like candles and sigils. Things like herbs, stones, animals – stuff like that.”

“How do you even know about this stuff?” She wondered.

He chuckled lightly. “I’m a technopagan.”

“Like from Buffy?”

“Yeah, like from Buffy,” he laughed.

“Wow, a science nerd and a pagan all in one? Is that even legal?”

“Hey, I’ll have you know that technopagans focus on the spiritual side of technology and the energies of technological items, so yeah – it’s very science nerdy.”

She giggled, curling up against him. “Would it be bad for me to say that I’m a little relieved that you’re into this stuff, too?”

“Not at all,” he assured her. “Why would it be bad?” She shrugged, saying nothing. “So, think you can go to work tomorrow?”

“I’ll have to sleep on it,” she teased lightly, “but I’d hazard a guess that the answer is no.”

“Good,” he grinned impishly down at her. “And what kind of boyfriend would I be if I just left you here all alone. I guess I’ll have to stay here and keep you company.”

“I might not even let you out of the bed.”

He laughed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “It’s a date.”


End file.
